I read where a man suggested shortening the throttle valve cable on an auto car so it would shift out between 4200-4500 at WOT, because of the loss of power at higher rpms. Will this actually help? Couldn't you just manually shift your auto at 4500?

 

no you can't just manually shift your auto. you can let off the gas and it will shift. try it, go out and put it in first and floor it and put it in 2nd at 2-3k rpm's and it will stay in first until its normal shift point.
putting it in 1st just forces the transmission to stay in first. putting it in second lets it do whatever it wants in first but won't let it go past 2nd, same for D (3rd) it'll do whatever in 1st and 2nd but not go into OD (4th)
you have to mess around with your transmission cable to change your shift points.
Andrew

 

Smokin I am going to have to disagree with your statement that you cant manually shift an automatic. I have been shifting my 92 350TPI manually since I bought it. I can put it in 1st and shift into 2nd whenever I please. I dont have to wait for a normal shift point to be reached. I wont say that there are not some autos that behave has you have described but every automatic car I have ever driven has never displayed that sort of shifting behavior when manually shifted. Heck even my wife's Corolla will shift from 1st to 2nd when the shifter is moved from 1st to 2nd.

Eric

 

#1 - i think smokin' was referring to WOT. If you have the shfter in first gear, floor it, then bump the shifter into second, it will not shift to second until it hits whatever it's normal shift point. I have never seen a stock slushbox that didn't exhibit this behavior.

#2 - you adjust the shift points of the tranny by playing with the weights and srpings of the governor. If you try to adjust your shift points by playing wit hthe TV cable you will fry your transmission in short order.

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Ed Maher - Moderator @ The TPI & Carb Boards
92 Z28 Convertible - Quasar blue / Tan top
305 TPI A4 2.73 - 14.7 @ 93.6
Stock except ported plenum and dual cats
-=ICON Motorsports=-

- Definitely prototypes, high powered mutants of some kind. Too weird to live, too cool to die

 

ORRRR, you could order a manual/shift improver kit, that would allow you to manually shift at any RPM. Orrr, get stupid, like I did, and by a manual valve body and have to do all the shifting, all the time.

Food for thought.

Sparks a flyin'

 

could i shift at 4500rpm at WOT if i burn my own chip?

 

Nope, the computer doesn't control shift points (it does in the newer F-bodies though). The only good way to change the WOT shift point is by changing the weights and/or springs in the governor on the left side of the tranny. Or, you can install a manual valve body and have to shift your tranny all the time.

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Greg Westphal
'87 IROC 355TPI/A4